![]() “Lightning will channel through the rain shaft. While dry thunderstorms have the same amount of lightning as regular storms, much less rain falls so these storms can sneak up on us. But it’s also the type of lightning we get here.ĭry lightning is common in Colorado because air near the ground is drier than actual clouds above it. Even compared to other high elevation spots in Colorado, the Palmer Divide by far produces the most lightning. When weather factors come together, this warm season circulation has been shown to play a big part in strong storms and tornadoes developing over/near the Front Range. This leads to an area of enhanced spin, which causes more active weather. In this particular area, stretching south from Denver into the Pikes Peak Region, wind flow interacts with the terrain features in a unique way.Ĭolorado’s topography, where Pikes Peak juts into the lower elevation plains, can get a combination of converging winds and more moisture near the surface. Above is a CG flash density map for the state of Colorado (data from 1996 through 2016.) Courtesy: NWS Pueblo. You can see the density of lightning strikes over the Palmer Divide, where the red dots are clustered on this map. Especially as thunderstorms are intensifying over that region, there could be lightning jumps and you get a lot more lightning concentrated over that area,” said Steward. “Topographically speaking, the orographic lifting of the mountains makes a lot more susceptible for there to be frequent lightning. Multiply the value above by 1000 to get the value. Courtesy: NWS Pueblo. The map above shows a rough average of the number of cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning flashes for each county in the state of Colorado. On an average July day, there is more than 5,300 lightning flashes across Colorado. A 7 day running mean is also shown (red line). The graph above shows the average number of CG flashes which occurred over the state of Colorado from 1996 to 2016 (21 years inclusive) for each day of the year (blue line). This chart highlights how high the concentration of strikes is, especially during the month of July. “Around the Pikes Peak Region, Rampart Range, Monument Hill, there tends to be the highest concentrations there,” said Meteorologist Paul Steward, with the National Weather Service in Pueblo. And the highest number of injuries and deaths due to lightning is in El Paso County. There is one place in the state that sees the highest number of flashes – the Pikes Peak Region. Located between Houston and San Antonio, Flatonia recorded nearly 1,000 strikes per square kilometer.(COLORADO SPRINGS) - Colorado is a hot spot for frequent lightning and deadly strikes, ranking fourth in the country for the number of deaths due to lightning. However, when it comes down to what town specifically is considered the lightning capital in the U.S., Flatonia, Texas wins the title for having the greatest number of lightning strikes. The Big Econlockhatchee Wildlife Management area had 857 lightning strikes per square mile in 2021. ![]() Just east of Orlando, Geneve is the new lightning capital of the state. The Sunshine State averaged 223 lightning events per square mile for the whole year. In 2021, Florida stole the title back.įlorida is once again the lightning capital of the United States based on strikes per square kilometer. In 2020, Oklahoma stole Florida's title as lightning capital when it came to the number of strikes per square kilometer. Florida observed four lightning deaths in 2021.recorded lowest lightning fatality count on record The state averaged 223 strikes per square mile in 2021.Florida is the lightning capital of the United States.
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